The Lifelong Quest For Sobriety…The Ultimate Hero’s Journey—Part 31

Guest Blogger and long-time Council friend, Bob W. presents Part 31 of a series dealing with Alcoholism and Addiction from a Mystical, Mythological Perspective, reflecting Bob’s scholarly work as a Ph.D. in mythological studies.

King George for Bob Wagner post 31The movie, The King’s Speech, with Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush, is about King George VI who, despite a terrible speech impediment, must conquer his affliction and rise up to lead England in its critical opposition to Germany in the years up to the beginning of WWII. It is a stirring portrayal of the courage of a leader and his people in one of the ugliest times in human history. This period has always held a fascination for me, having been born in its early years, because it required so much courage of everyone, so much energy in the face of enormous terrors for everyone, leaders and citizens alike.

But it also occurs to me that, in our struggles to initiate and maintain a life of sobriety, sobriety from the substances and behavior of addiction as well as a psychical sobriety from the behavior patterns that attended our addictions, we mirror just this kind of courage. For each and every one of us, our lives in the throes of addiction were just as fearsome and dangerous to our individual lives and those around us as was the scourge of Nazism and Fascism of Germany, Italy, and Imperial Japan…and then Communist Russia and China…to the multitudinous communities of the free world in the 1930’s, 40’s and 50’s.

Looking at this from the same perspective, each of us, enslaved in the throes of addictive consumptions and behaviors, had to summon incredible individual fortitude to step through the Gates of Recovery and pursue a better life. It required a courage and resolve that mirrored that for those who landed in the surf of Omaha Beach in the Normandy invasion of June 1944.

Achieving a semblance of Sobriety, and a life in the Fellowships we all enjoy in our sober lives, provide an incredible sense of joy and achievement, despite the work necessary to maintain a safe haven from addiction.  It is a sense of joy that mirrors that felt by the entire free world when the ultimate defeats of German, Italy and Japan were achieved in 1945.

Why Do People With Mental Disorders Turn to Drugs?

Many people diagnosed with a mental disorder start abusing illegal drugs to either fight the symptoms of their illness or deal with the side effects of the medicine used to treat their illness. Scientists have long made the link between mental health disorders and substance abuse. In fact, the co-existence of both is referred to as “co-occurring disorders.”

According to the 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 8.2 million adults over the age of 18 had co-occurring disorders (see a diagram from the survey below).

Co occurring disorders chart2

Consider schizophrenia. About 50 percent of people suffering from the disorder have also abused illegal substances at some point during their lives, according to the article “Treating Substance Abuse among Patients with Schizophrenia” published in Psychiatry Online. 

 “It is widely assumed that patients with schizophrenia use substances to reduce psychotic symptoms and alleviate the sedating side effects of neuroleptics. However, the most common reasons given for use of alcohol and other drugs are to “get high” and to reduce negative affective states including social anxiety and tension, dysphoria and depression, and boredom.”

Researchers have made a connection between schizophrenia and marijuana use in particular. Use of the drug causes symptoms of schizophrenia – like hallucinations and paranoia – to get worse.

Teens dealing with a social anxiety disorder are more likely to start using marijuana at an earlier age, according to a study from Case Western Reserve University School.

What are reasons for the connection? There are young users who take the drug to appear more fun and to “alleviate the social anxiety of making friends,” according to the recent “Canadian Youth Perceptions on Cannabis” report, where interviewers spoke to youth participating in the study. In addition to that, both “cannabis intoxication” and withdrawal from the drug can lead to anxiety.

Regular cocaine use is also linked to anxiety disorders and stress.

If you or someone you love suffering from a co-occurring mental health disorder, contact The Council on Recovery.

[From Get Smart About Drugs, a DEA Resource for Parents, Educators, and Care-Givers] 

The Lifelong Quest For Sobriety…The Ultimate Hero’s Journey—Part 30

Guest Blogger and long-time Council friend, Bob W. presents Part 30 of a series dealing with Alcoholism and Addiction from a Mystical, Mythological Perspective, reflecting Bob’s scholarly work as a Ph.D. in mythological studies.

Hellboy comicMuch of the modern comic and graphic novel genre focuses on the paranormal activities of figures of unusual maybe even absurd abilities.  One such figure is Hellboy, a creature spawned in Hell and accidentally released into the real world through a series of experiments by certain fictitious Nazi scientists. Hellboy’s ascension into the World and the places he found himself were also facilitated by the work of a British scientist and the US Air Force, who take him to a secret facility in New Mexico, where he is raised and, despite his origin in Hell, becomes a very powerful force for good.

Hellboy’s escapades, as told in many, many stories, have him conquering all sorts of evil forces with a power and vengeance that is captivating, despite his name and original history. The creator of Hellboy, Mike Mignola, found much of the inspiration for stories and characters in the mythologies of various ancient cultures. Hecate, for instance, who was a Greek goddess of crossroads, magic, and demons, is this fierce and nearly invincible demon who engages Hellboy in fearsome struggles, only to have Hellboy ultimately prevail. In another episode, Hellboy must venture down into Hell and confront various supernatural powers that attended his original procreation.  Much of these stories are parallels to our individual lives in our diseases of alcoholism and addiction as are the struggles we had to confront, some quite long and drawn out, to gain a life in Sobriety.

All of us in our disease could easily have been described as hellboys, people who in near alcoholic stupors were just incarnations of devil-like beings.  I can’t remember how many times, after a particularly long and planned-to-be-festive holiday, it was said to me, “Here’s another holiday you have ruined for us.”

It is good to know that this “Hellboy” is also turning the corner into a dominant force for good.

The Lifelong Quest For Sobriety…The Ultimate Hero’s Journey—Part 29

Guest Blogger and long-time Council friend, Bob W. presents Part 29 of a series dealing with Alcoholism and Addiction from a Mystical, Mythological Perspective, reflecting Bob’s scholarly work as a Ph.D. in mythological studies.

In 1933, the Jewish population of Europe was approx 9.5 million.  In 1950, it was approx 3.5 million.  While there were some emigrations before the intense Nazi persecutions began in 1938 and after WWII ended in 1945, the vast bulk of that reduction was the systematic murder of nearly 6 million by the Nazis during that intervening period. The Holocaust was a wretched chapter in human history and we can debate forever why and how it could possibly have happened…especially considering the vast number of both victims who were killed and perpetrators who made conscious decisions to participate in the killing or ignore the reality that it was happening.

Wars and horrific events that are occasioned by wars are an ever present experience in the history of the human species.  They have always seemed to me to have happened when our basest natures begin to rule our activities, for whatever reasons. It is almost as if wars and the horrific events around wars represent the collective of societies acting out in a massive alcoholic rage. I believe there is a parallel here to each of us in our diseased states.

Our individual alcoholism, the elements of our psyches that set us up to an ugly descent into the abyss of demoralization, shame, fear, and pain, may have had many causes. These conditions can happen for collectives as well. Thinking of what happened in the Holocaust, in all its phases, it seems that there are parallels to the most despicable of our behaviors in our diseased states.

This may be why, for those of us fully committed to living lives in the pursuit of sobriety, our new-found, 12-step based behavior is so critical to the societies in which we live. It is clear that the experience of the long history of the human species is to higher and higher levels of consciousness. As human societies evolve to these greater states, those of us carrying the message, modeling new behavior, motivated solely from a consciousness of service, will be the agents of ultimate change.  Service to everyone, individually and collectively, service to the Cosmos from a profound position of humility, must be our fundamental calling.

Kristen Johnston Helps The Council on Recovery Raise $440K to Fund Addiction Prevention, Education, & Treatment Programs

Kristen at PodiumTwo-time Emmy Award-winning actress and best-selling author Kristen Johnston inspired a crowd of 900 with her personal story of addiction and recovery this past Thursday at the Hilton Americas-Houston. In the process, she helped The Council on Recovery raise more than $440,000 to provide prevention, education, and treatment services in the Greater Houston area.

Anne Schallenberger
Ann McCullough Shallenberger

Johnston was the keynote speaker at the 35th Annual Spring Luncheon in The Waggoners Foundation Speaker Series presented by the Wayne Duddlesten Foundation. The Luncheon also honored long-time Council board member and friend, Anne McCullough Shallenberger, with The Council’s Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her commitment, service, and dedication to The Council’s mission.

 

Co Chairs w Kristen
Devon Anderson, Kristen, Bob Newhouse

With preceding remarks from Luncheon co-chairs, Devon Anderson and Bob Newhouse, and heartfelt introduction by Jerri Duddlesten-Moore, Kristen Johnston praised The Council on Recovery’s work. She said, “I’ve been speaking for a while and going all over, and this [The Council on Recovery] is the most comprehensive treatment center. What you’re doing here is truly unique.”

Speaking of her own struggles with addiction, Kristen spoke of the stigma that often surrounds addiction and the importance for those who are in recovery to address that stigma. Sober 13 years, Kristen said, “There is still a lot of work to be done to get our voices heard…to help break down the stigma that, once in recovery, it’s not something to openly talk about.”

Kristen echoed the concerns voiced by Devon Anderson about challenges that young people face amidst the new technologies that have become highly addictive in their own right. Kristen’s own passion for helping adolescents was recently reflected in the publicized work she did to help establish New York City’s first sober high school.

June Waggoner and late husband Virgil are the benefactors of The Waggoners Foundation Speaker Series in honor and memory of their son, Jay Waggoner, whom they lost to alcoholism. Since the luncheon series’ creation in 1999, it has attracted nearly 33,000 people and raised over $14 Million. Past luncheon speakers include Rob Lowe, Patrick Kennedy, Ashley Judd, Tom Arnold, Lynda Carter, Paul Williams, Richard Dreyfuss, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jim Belushi, and Earl Campbell.

 

The Lifelong Quest For Sobriety…The Ultimate Hero’s Journey—Part 28

Guest Blogger and long-time Council friend, Bob W. presents Part 28 of a series dealing with Alcoholism and Addiction from a Mystical, Mythological Perspective, reflecting Bob’s scholarly work as a Ph.D. in mythological studies.

Days of Wine Roses Image
Days of Wine & Roses

When I was 19, in 1962, I remember going to see the movie Days of Wine and Roses, about a couple struggling with alcoholism. Joe, played by Jack Lemmon, and Kirsten, played by Lee Remick, descend from active social drinking into desperate alcoholism.  An otherwise normal couple in the corporate world of New York in the 1950’s, their descent is gradual until numerous bouts of out-of-control binging begin to destroy their lives.  Joe pursues recovery through AA, with Jack Klugman as Jim, his sponsor, providing an excellent portrayal of the sponsor role.  Kirsten struggles much more mightily with the disease but fails in the end.  Joe and she split up and she just disappears into a world of out-of-control drinking.

From my perspective, this movie is one of the really good, early-on portrayals of the true nature of this disease.  It also resonates with me because it carries the imagery and ambiance, and the ever presence of alcohol, of the business world in New York where I began my adult life.

We all know that there are many more sad stories of people in this disease than there are happy ones. When I saw this movie, I was far away from my disease, although my father had struggled his whole life, so I had some inkling.  But the movie’s end struck me very powerfully.  Joe was in recovery, and Kirsten, still in the disease, came to see him to suggest they get back together.  He says he will but only if she gives up drinking.  She responds, “Joe, the world looks so dirty to me when I am not drinking.  Remember Fisherman’s Wharf…the water so fuzzy when you looked too close? That’s the way the world looks to me when I am not drinking.”

The movie closes with Joe looking out the window of his apartment into a rainy night seeing Kirsten walk away down the street and disappear.  The power of that scene to me at the time, a 19 year old in 1962, begs some explanation, which I cannot provide.  Perhaps it was some element of the imbedded nature of my life with alcohol present even at such an early time.  But, whatever it was, from the perspective of today, it is a spectacular manifestation of what we can enjoy in the continuing pursuit of committed sobriety.